TFN Declaration Form: A Guide for Australian Employers

The TFN declaration form, officially the Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092), is the ATO form every new employee completes so you can withhold the right amount of tax from their pay. The employee fills in their details, you complete the payer section, and you report it to the ATO through your payroll software (or on paper within 14 days).

This guide covers what's on the form, who fills in which part, the deadlines, what to do when someone won't give you their TFN, and how to collect it without paper, emails or text messages. It reflects the ATO's guidance as at October 2026.

This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Check the ATO's payer information for TFN declarations for your situation.

What is a TFN declaration form?

A tax file number (TFN) is the number the Australian Taxation Office uses to identify each taxpayer. The tax file number declaration tells you, the payer, the things you need to calculate PAYG withholding:

• the employee's TFN (or why they haven't provided one)
• their name, address and date of birth
• whether they're an Australian resident for tax purposes, a foreign resident or a working holiday maker
• whether they want to claim the tax-free threshold from you
• whether they have a HELP or other study and training support loan, so you can withhold extra
• whether they're full time, part time, casual, labour hire, or receiving a super income stream

Without a valid declaration, you have to withhold tax at the top rate, so it's in everyone's interest to get it right in the first week.

Who fills in which part

The form has two sections.

Section	Who completes it	What's in it
Section A: Payee's declaration	The new employee	TFN, personal details, residency, tax-free threshold, study loans, signature and date
Section B: Payer's declaration	You (the employer)	Your ABN or withholding payer number, business name and address, contact person, signature and date

Ask the employee to complete Section A on or before their first day. You complete Section B when it comes back. If you use a digital onboarding form, the payer details are usually filled in for you.

When do you need one?

You need a TFN declaration from anyone you'll withhold tax from, including:

• every new employee, whether full time, part time or casual
• company directors and office holders
• anyone receiving a super income stream from you, or certain compensation and labour hire payments

You don't need one from a contractor who quotes an ABN, because you don't withhold from them under PAYG (unless they don't give you an ABN).

A declaration stays in place until the employee gives you a new one or stops working for you. They should give you a new form if their circumstances change, such as becoming a foreign resident or paying off their study loan.

How to lodge a TFN declaration with the ATO

How you lodge depends on how you report payroll.

If you use STP Phase 2 payroll software (most employers). You don't send the completed TFN declaration to the ATO. Your Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 reports already carry the employee's tax details, so you enter the declaration into payroll, report as normal, and keep the completed form for your records. Xero, MYOB and the other major payroll systems are STP Phase 2 enabled.

If you lodge on paper. Complete Section B and send the original form to the ATO within 14 days after the employee signs it (or after you complete it, if they didn't give it to you). Keep a copy.

The 14-day rule if the employee doesn't return the form. If a new employee hasn't given you a completed declaration within 14 days of starting, you must tell the ATO. With STP Phase 2 you do this by reporting the employee with the right tax treatment code (one beginning with "N"). The alternative is to complete a TFN declaration with whatever details you have, print "PAYER" in the TFN area, and send it to the ATO.

What if the employee doesn't provide a TFN?

Employees don't have to quote their TFN. But if they don't, the tax consequences land on them, and you have rules to follow:

• No TFN and no declaration. After 14 days you notify the ATO (as above) and withhold at the top marginal rate plus the Medicare levy from every payment.
• They've applied for a TFN. If they tick the box saying they've lodged an application or enquiry, they have 28 days to give you their TFN. Withhold at the normal rate for those 28 days. If they still haven't provided it after 28 days, switch to the top rate unless the ATO tells you otherwise.
• They're exempt. Some people, such as certain pensioners and people under 18 earning below the ATO's threshold, can claim an exemption on the form. Follow the exemption they've claimed.

Never guess or make up a TFN, and never ask the employee to send it by text or email "just to get it done". The ATO's TFN declaration guidance is clear that TFNs must be collected, stored and disposed of securely.

Paper vs online: your three options

There are three ways a new starter can complete a tax file number declaration.

1. ATO online services through myGov. The employee signs in to myGov, opens the linked ATO service and goes to Employment, then New employment. The details go to the ATO electronically, and the employee prints a "tax and super details" summary to give you. You enter it into payroll and keep the summary. They can't use this option if they don't have a TFN, are exempt from quoting one, or need the separate withholding declaration for seniors' offsets.
2. The paper form (NAT 3092). As at October 2026, the ATO doesn't publish this form as a downloadable PDF. Order paper copies from the ATO Publications Ordering Service or by phoning 1300 720 092, and only order what you need, as the ATO updates the form. Be wary of "TFN declaration form PDF download" links on other sites: they may be out of date.
3. Your own digital form. The ATO lets payers collect the declaration through their own approved electronic form, and its online form guidance tells employees to use the employer's form if there is one. This is how most onboarding software, including Canyou, collects it.

If you're searching for a "TFN declaration form PDF download", the practical answer is: you probably don't need one. A digital form is faster, checks the answers as they're entered, and never sits in someone's glovebox.

Keeping TFN declaration records

You must keep a copy of each completed declaration, whether it arrived on paper or digitally:

• keep it for as long as you're paying the employee
• if they give you a new declaration, keep the earlier one until the end of the following financial year
• after you last pay someone, keep their final declaration until the end of the next financial year (if you last paid them on 12 April 2026, keep it until 30 June 2027)

Store TFNs securely, limit who can see them, and destroy them securely when you no longer need them. A TFN sitting in a shared inbox or a text thread is a data breach waiting to happen.

Common TFN declaration mistakes

These are the errors that cause most of the rework:

• Tax-free threshold claimed twice. A second job where the employee also claims the threshold means not enough tax is withheld, and a bill at tax time. Ask the question directly if they already have a job.
• Wrong residency. Working holiday makers and foreign residents have different withholding rates. A visa holder ticking "Australian resident" is a common slip.
• Study loan not ticked. If a HELP debt isn't declared, you won't withhold the extra amount.
• Blank fields and missing signatures. A paper form with box 7 empty or no signature has to go back to the employee.
• Typos in the TFN. One swapped digit and the record won't match at the ATO.
• TFNs sent by email or text. It's the fastest way to collect it and the worst way to store it.
• Missing the 14-day window when an employee simply doesn't hand the form back.

Collecting the TFN declaration digitally with Canyou

Canyou is employee onboarding software for Australian businesses. The TFN declaration is one task in a new starter's onboarding, alongside the super choice form, bank details, the Fair Work Information Statement and anything role-specific, like licences.

Here's how the electronic TFN declaration works:

• One link. Send the new starter an onboarding link by SMS, email or QR code. They complete the declaration on their own phone, in the browser, with nothing to download.
• Checked as they type. Every field is validated before it reaches you, so you don't get half-finished forms or missing signatures.
• Secure by default. TFNs are transmitted securely, protected by two-factor authentication, and sensitive data is stored in Australia. Nothing travels by email or text.
• Status and reminders. You can see who's finished and who hasn't, and Canyou sends reminders to anyone who's outstanding, which helps you stay inside the 14-day window.
• One click into payroll. Validated tax, super and bank details sync into Xero Payroll (see the Xero integration and the syncing guide). Other payroll and rostering connections are listed on our integrations page.
• Records kept. Each declaration is time-stamped against the person and kept in one place, so your records are ISO audit-ready.

Your payroll software then reports the employee's details to the ATO through STP, so there's nothing to post.

With Canyou, onboarding takes about 15 minutes per worker, down from 6–10 hours. For the full picture, see the new employee onboarding checklist and our guide to employee onboarding, or see how employee onboarding in Canyou gets new starters cleared to work before day one.

Try for free (no credit card required), or Book a demo and we'll walk you through it. Plans are on the pricing page.

Sources (accessed October 2026): ATO, Payer information and obligations; ATO, Completing your TFN declaration form online; ATO, Paper TFN declaration form for payees.